If you're gonna derp, do it with style

Category: style

Just a quick eye look that I did using glamour doll eyes (centre of the lid) and lotus pure (crease) eye shadows. Use a light matte pink in the crease, blend a warm toned purple on the outer corner and add depth with a black cream shadow (life hack, scrape the leftovers from an eyeliner […]

Hey guys, sorry this is so late, going back to school was pretty hectic. Today I wanted to show you an easy tutorial on how to press loose pigments. As I mentioned previously in my Glamour Doll Eyes review pressing eye shadows is often more convenient than carrying around jars of loose powder. So without further ado let’s get into the tutorial.

Ingredients/ Materials

Loose pigment eyeshadow

Fractionated coconut oil

Rubbing alcohol

coin

paper towels

eyeshadow pan

toothpick/stirring stick

Step 1

Add two drops of coconut oil to the powder pigment and flood with alcohol til you get a paste the consistency of pancake batter.

loose pigment eyeshadow

add oil and alcohol

mix until smooth

tada

Step 2

Carefully pour into prepared eyeshadow pan. Make sure to sanitize the eyeshadow pan before this using the rubbing alcohol.

a little messy but it’s in there

Step 3

Leave the pan out for about 30 minutes until the excess alcohol evaporates. The preferred texture should be about a wet sand consistency. Unfortunately I don’t think I have a pic of this stage.

Step 4

Press using the coin and the paper towel until all the extra alcohol is out. My pigment had ultramarine blue in it which is why it stained the paper towel but if the shadow doesn’t contain this pigment, there should be very little transfer of pigment. Lather, rinse, repeat if necessary.

yikes

Step 5

Remove the coin and paper towel carefully and wait about a day before you swatch your new eyeshadow. Congrats, you did it !

tada

Depending on how many eyeshadows you press, you can store these in a Z-palette or make a DIY palette. I made the ones below with cardboard and foam. The cool thing about DIY-ing it is that it’s absolutely customizable.

After i hyped up myself to consolidate my shadows into one palette and succeded only in massacring the new ones

the first ever palette

all the GDE shadows plus 3 Lotus shadows

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Comment down below if you want more tutorials like this and tag me on insta @___pyrotechnics if you attempt it. See you in the next post!

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Hi guys, I’m back to reviewing stuff and this time I’m gonna follow up with short tutorials on two eye looks I created with the palettes. Hope you all enjoy!

So I did buy two of these palettes however I kinda deconstructed one to put the pans into a larger palette with my GDE shadows. As you can see i attempted to do the same with this palette but it didn’t work out so this will be our pretty photogenic palette.

I bought these palettes off of amazon.com for $17.99 each and they were prime eligible. The one pictured is called “Seduction” and the other one that i destroyed is called “Morning Mist”. Seduction has purply-brown pink colours good for a smoky eye while Morning Mist has more natural colours plus a gorgeous gold shimmer. I shall insert pics below.

the gold is my fave

this makes me very uncomfortable #imsorry

You can probably tell that my depotting adventure was not very successful from the pic of the pink eyeshadow that had been brutally massacred. Anyway on with the review xD!

The eyeshadows come in this sleek reflective compact with a really nice mirror. The only drawback is that it’s really easy to smudge and fingerprint. Overall sturdy and compact packaging that protects the eyeshadow while still being attractive.

front view feat. me

back view of Seduction

back view of Morning Mist

The formula of these is pretty soft especially the matte orange and pink in Morning Mist. They were almost a little powdery, but quite pigmented and easy to blend. The Morning Mist palette was the more pigmented one which i found weird since they’re the same brand of eyeshadow. Seduction had a different texture, being harder and less pigmented that the Morning Mist shadows. There are two matte/semi matte colours in each palette; in MM, the pink and orange and in Seduction the two dark purples. The other two are shimmery, that is, the gold and goldish brown in MM and the cream and pink shimmers in Seduction. Versatile colours that are well matched so you can create a number of looks with one palette. HOWEVER the shimmery pink in Seduction was a bit disappointing because it was so hard and had little colour payoff. Finger swatches below will show you what I mean.

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The lightest shade doesn’t look very pigmented because it’s close to my skin colour so it kinda blends in. It works well as an inner-corner highlight. I like that they included two purples, one more cool toned and another warm toned purple. These work nicely for a subtle smoky eye as a nice alternative to black eyeshadow.

Morning Mist swatches

Seduction swatches

the gold in MM is my faveee

As you can tell the pink shimmer from Seduction is really not pigmented. But just look at that gold though omg. It’s lit. These shadows also don’t have any fall out, except for the gold but that’s to be expected from a glitter type shadow. I was really impressed with the shimmers in these palettes because the shimmer is very subtle not like GDE which has large glitter particles that literally get everywhere, even if you press them. Overall V. impressed with these palettes, mainly because I like the colours and the lack of fallout. the pigmentation however could use some work.

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So recently, last month I discovered an indie makeup brand called Glamour Doll Eyes that specializes in mineral eyeshadow. I ordered the sample jars and baggies in a grab bag so as to get a decent range of colours to experiment with. In this post I will be reviewing the eyeshadows. Hope you find this review helpful!

The grab bags I got included 5 sample jars, 5 sample baggies and a free full-sized product since my order total was over $10. All the shades I received were very shimmery with a couple of duochrome shadows.

The shadows that came in the grab bag plus the “get with purchase” or GWP; From the top, to the right: Grayson (June 2016 GWP), Fields of Wire, Galalxy Beyond Dreams, Outtie 5000, Radley Prep and Charming Society

Grayson was June’s GWP, a grayish purple tone shimmer. The colour of the GWP changes every month but you can buy the past GWPs on the site. Below are swatches on my bare arm, without primer.

As you can see the colours are very shimmery and nicely pigmented even without a primer. Being loose pigments however, there is a considerable amount of fallout, so I would recommend doing your eye makeup first if you plan to use these shadows. There is a decent amount of product in the sample jars but they do not have a sifter, so getting product onto a brush can get tricky.

The sample baggies are a little bit harder to manoeuvre so I decided to press the loose shadow into pans. Since this was the first time I had pressed eyeshadow, I was nervous about whether the original pigmentation would remain, but fortunately everything turned out fine.

Not Your Secret

Tattooed Remix (top) and The New Girl

Blend Blend Blend (top) and Lost Horizons

Pressing the pigments definitely reduced the fallout without decreasing the pigmentation, and made it much easier to apply them. Below are arm swatches without primer.

From left: Not Your Secret, Tattooed Remix, The New Girl, Lost Horizons and Blend x3

Now for a brief overview of the colour selection; in general I was impressed with the variety I received in both my grab bags, 10/10 would buy again. I personally liked the shimmery/glittery eyeshadow but if your eyelids are wrinkled you may prefer a more matte shadow. GDE does make matte shades, and I think you can request at least one matte shadow to be included in your grab bag. I liked the fact that both bright and neutral colours were included because i had enough variety to experiment with different looks. The colour also lasted fairly well on my eyelids (without primer) when I wore the shadows to an event. they didn’t fade or start to crease. Despite being very sparkly, the glitter did not irritate my eyes or “scratch” my eyelids. Overall they are comfortable and attractive to wear.

Colour Guide

Not Your Secret, powder blue shimmer with a slight purple cast

Tattooed Remix,bright blue shimmer

The New Girl, bright lime green shimmer with blue tones

Lost Horizons, bright pink shimmer with a blueish cast

Blend x3, lilac with rose gold undertones

Charming Society,frosty white with pink and blue duochrome

Radley Prep,warm brown shimmer

Outtie 5000,magenta shimmer with blue cast

Fields of Wire,army green with rainbow glitters

Galaxy Beyond Dreams,black with rainbow chunky glitter

Grayson, cool gray/purple duochrome

Pros and cons of loose pigments

Although they are a bit more tricky to use, loose pigments are a lot more versatile than pressed eyeshadow. You can include the pigment in a gel eyeliner base to make a bright eyeliner, or in a lip balm recipe to tint it. You can also make cream blush and highlight using the loose pigments in some medium or just use them in powder form. You can even mix them with clear nail polish to make a custom colour. However, there are some cons, aside from the from being more difficult to apply. Fallout is a big problem especially if you get a bit over exuberant in applying it. To combat this you can use tissue or a shadow shield to catch the fallout and do your eye makeup before your foundation/concealer. Loose shadow is also easier to spill or knock over especially if you’re slightly clumsy (like me). It also tends to blow away if you do your makeup in front of a window on a windy day. Mica particles in eyeshadow are respiratory irritants so this problem is more than just a minor inconvenience, it’s a health hazard. Fortunately it is relatively easy to press loose pigments and there are so many tutorials for that online. I’ll try to make one as soon as I get more pans. They are also less travel friendly than pressed eyeshadow since the little jars they come in take up more space than a flat palette of pressed shadows.

Overall Impression

Overall I was very impressed with the eyeshadow but I woud recommend pressing them if you can. I definitely would reccomend these to a friend and will probably buy more as soon as I can. Hope you all enjoyed this review. Leave a like to see more!

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Hello friends! Today I bring you another skincare DIY. This body butter makes a good gift since it can be customized easily by using essential oils or fragrance oils. It is also a simple recipe that only requires 3 ingredients. Let’s get started.

Step 1

Obtain a small heat proof bowl and put the measured ingredients into it. Then heat a frying pan with about an inch of water on the stove. This is more convenient than a saucepan of water because the water will boil faster and it’s easier to take the bowl out of a shallow pan without burning yourself.

Step 2

Heat the ingredients until melted, stirring to ensure even heat distribution and to prevent them from burning. After the butters have melted stir in about 10-15 drops of essential oil for fragrance.

Step 3

Prepare an ice bath using a slightly larger bowl filled with ice cubes and a bit of water. This bowl should be shallow to prevent water from getting into the oil mixture. Place the bowl with the melted ingredients into the ice bath and whisk until the mixture becomes creamy. this takes a while but be patient. The final texture should resemble frosting.

Step 4

Once the mixture has thickened and cooled, scoop it into a jar. You can use recycled jam jars, mason jars or old body butter containers. Now your body butter is ready to use or give as a gift. Enjoy!!

The final product

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This is a continuation of the previous post on the face mask, and is a toner to accompany it. Like the face mask this toner contains simple ingredients that are easily obtained and can be found in most kitchens. Let’s get started!

ingredients *witch hazel not pictured

Ingredients/ Apparatus

1 part apple cider vinegar

1 part cold green tea

1 part witch hazel

1 part filtered water

5-6 drops of tea tree essential oil

7-8 drops of lavender essential oil

sanitized spray bottle

funnel

mixing glass/bottle

Step 1

Brew a strong cup of green tea. To do this steep a green tea bag in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Allow it to cool to room temperature.

Bentley’s green tea

Step 2

While the tea is cooling sanitize a spray bottle by boiling it or with rubbing alcohol.

clean spray bottles

Step 3

Pour equal amounts of the apple cider vinegar, witch hazel, green tea and filtered water into the mixing glass or bottle and stir or shake vigorously until evenly combined. Add the essential oils to the mixture and stir again.

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Step 4

Carefully pour the mixture into the spray bottle using the funnel. Spray liberally onto face after cleansing and using the mask. Do this twice a day.

Why this works…

Apple Cider Vinegar: is an antibacterial and also an acid which restores the skin’s pH

Green Tea: anti inflammatory and also provides some degree of sun protection

Witch hazel: astringent that reduces oils on the skin’s surface and calms inflammation

Tea Tree Oil: antibacterial agent, kills acne causing bacteria

Lavender Oil: antibacterial agent

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Hi guys, today I bring you a skin care DIY, in an attempt to get my skin ready for ball in a couple of weeks. This tutorial should be pretty easy since it uses only a few simple ingredients that can be found in most kitchens. Let’s get started!

Ingredients

1 tsp honey

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp brown sugar

juice from 1/4 of a lime/lemon or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp coffee grounds ( optional)

a container to mix everything in

the ingredients

Step 1

First clean out a jar or other suitable container to mix everything in. You can use an old jam jar or lotion jar but just make sure its been cleaned and sanitized well. I like to wash the jar with soap and water and then wipe it with rubbing alcohol for good measure.

clean, sanitized shea butter jar

Step 2

Add all the dry ingredients to the container and mix them well, then pour the honey and lime juice over them and mix well.

dry ingredients

wet and dry ingredients

squeeze the lime into the jar

Step 3

Put it on your face. Depending on the consistency of your mixture you can apply this with clean fingers or a brush. Gently massage the mask onto your face and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.

the finished product should look like this

Step 4

Wash the mask off with warm water and then splash cold water on your face after to close the pores.

Tips& Tricks

do this twice a day, once in the morning and once before going to bed

Add activated charcoal for an even deeper cleanse

apply the mask after washing your face

use toner after using the mask

stir the mixture with your finger before applying, this tends to settle

if you don’t have lime or lemon, use apple cider vinegar

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So I’m back from the hiatus of CSEC (thank God) with a new post. If you’re like me (cheap and poor) you probably want some variety in your nail polish colours but don’t have the funds to buy more. This post will be the solution to your problems. Let’s get started!

You will need:

An old empty nail polish bottle, small or sample sized ones are best

two colours of nail polish that mix well

clear topcoat (not pictured)

small ball bearings/beads (not pictured)
excuse the stain on the cap of the blue

For this tutorial, I will be mixing a dark purple (SOPHi by piggy paint in “Incogni-toe”) with bright blue (acquarella in “mahalo”) to make a navy-ish colour. It helps if the colours are in the same family, not complementary or else you will just get a nasty brownish colour. Adding white will make a colour pastel and adding black in miniscule quantities will make a darker version of that colour.

Step 1

Make sure your empty bottle has been suitably cleaned and dried. Mix the colours in small quantities on a piece of paper to make sure you like the combination.

smol swatch

Step 2

Carefully pour the nail polish into the empty bottle in the desired proportions. Make sure to do this over an area that is easily cleaned (i.e. not your bed). If the polish is thick you can add a drop or two of clear topcoat to even out the distribution of pigment. Add a couple of ball bearings or beads to the bottle to help in the mixing process.

this may get messy

the purple was too thick

if it looks like this add topcoat

As you can see the purple was thicker than the blue and so it was a bit tedious to add to the small bottle. This is where the clear topcoat comes in. Carefully add a few drops of topcoat along with the ball bearing/beads.

Step 3

Shake vigorously until all the pigment is blended together and there are no streaks. Check to see that the colour is what you wanted, and make adjustments as necessary. If you wanted to add glitter or anything else, do this now.

after le shake

And that’s basically all there is to it.

the finished product next to the original colours

Here’s a side by side comparison of the original colours and the final colour

from the top down: Incogni-toe, my colour and mahalo

I also made a bright coral colour by mixing orange and hot pink. In three coats its more of an orangey colour but in two the pink shows more. In the bottle it looks more pink but the picture shows more of the orange tones. I also mixed this in a bottle of glitter topcoat so you can see the glitter particles in the last picture.

Some helpful tips and tricks:

mix your colours in small swatches at first to make sure you like the result

use a sample/mini nail polish bottle to mix everything so you don’t have to use that much polish.

do not mix water based and solvent based nail polish, they will not blend

keep some remover handy in case you make a mess

use loose eyeshadow and clear topcoat to make your own colours

when adding black, add only small drops at a time to avoid muddying the colour too much

be careful not to swap the brushes of each colour, this will ruin the initial colour

this is a good way to use up the last of an old polish or improve the texture of a watery/ sheer polish.

Anyway, that’s all for today. comment, like and follow for more derp DIYs.

P.S if you do this tutorial, post a picture on your instagram and tag me @__pyrotechnics

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I’ve enjoyed using Burt’s Bees regular lip balm for quite some time, so I was excited to discover that they now made lipstick and other tinted lip products. I am a complete scrub when it comes to makeup, but I do try to stick to natural products when I do use it. I had also previously tried their liquid lip gloss, but I can’t seem to find it, so I’ll have to review that another day.

The products I bought were the Burt’s Bees lip crayon, and a lipstick. I bought the crayon in the shade Napa vineyard which is a bright classic red colour with a satin/matte finish. For the lipstick, I got the shade Juniper Water which is a purply magenta colour also with a satin finish. It looks dark in the tube but can be applied in sheer layers which look quite natural and attractive, or thicker and more opaque for a more dramatic dark lip.

Juniper Water

Burt’s Bees lip crayon in Napa Vineyard

Both products have a slight smell, however it is not objectionable. The lipstick has a sweetish fruity/floral smell while the crayon has a more plain/waxy smell. They both glide on quite smoothly, but make sure to use a clear lip balm underneath for smoother application. As I mentioned before, the juniper water colour can be layered and built upon depending on the desired look. The crayon however goes on bright red and opaque. I found that both were pleasantly moisturizing and light, unlike most lipsticks which I find to be too waxy and heavy. They did not dry out my lips or stain them either.

Swatch of Napa VineyardSwatch of Juniper Water

As for lasting power, they wear off relatively quickly if you eat or drink, but that wasn’t an issue for me. If you’re the kind of person who needs their makeup to last through the apocalypse, this probably isn’t for you. I would suggest taking the tube along with you if you’re going out to touch up if you’ll be eating or drinking. Without eating or drinking, I’d say it lasted about three hours max.

The packaging of both items was sturdy and attractive, but the lipstick had broken in the tube when I received it. The tip had melted and stuck to the cap and had to be shaken out and manually reattached. I don’t know why or how that happened but it’s more a problem with the shipping/handling than the actual product. Overall no complaints with the packaging itself.

To sum up, I definitely would recommend these lipsticks for anyone who wants a natural alternative to regular lipstick. There is a large variety of shades in both the lip crayons and lipsticks from bold colours to nudes so you’re bound to find something you like. The price is also a big plus, both products are less than $10 US dollars on Amazon and have a sizeable quantity of product in each tube. All in all, I’d see no reason not to try these, except they’re not vegan. Pictures and swatches, along with a link to each product will be posted below.